Naruto's happiness
by Ribbon-chan03
Summary: What if, instead of hatred from all sides, Naruto found friends in his classmates?
1. Prolouge

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast_

A six year old child ran down the streets of Konoha, a mob of villagers and ninja chasing him. The child's normally blonde hair was matted with blood and dirt, and his cerulean eyes were clouded over with unshed tears.

"Demon brat!" cried the mob. "Today is the day you die!"

The boy merely ran faster. 'What did I do to deserve this?' he asked himself. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice a small girl, around his age, before he ran into her, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The boy blinked and looked down at the girl. Gasping and getting up, he mumbled a quick apology and continued running. The girl brushed her pink strands of hair out of her face, revealing emerald green eyes. She looked to the retreating form of the boy, and gave chase, desperately wondering what his hurry was, and why a mob was chasing him.

As the boy ran, he heard a soft, feminine voice crying out. "Hey! Wait up!"

He abruptly turned down an alleyway, only to find two things. One, the girl was still following him, and two, this alley was a dead end. The girl slid to a halt beside him.

"Why are those people chasing you??" She inquired.

To which he replied, "I don't know. I really don't!"

Just then, an ANBU shunshined into existence in front of them. The only thing the two could make out, besides his dog mask, was his silver hair, which seemed to defy gravity.

"Are you two alright?" The ANBU asked.

Both children nodded, and the ANBU turned back to the mob. He glared angrily at them. "Leave these children alone. They have done nothing to you!"

The mob, in fear for their lives, fled.


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast_

The ANBU nodded to the children and shunshined away.

The boy smiled. "That was close." To which his female companion nodded.

"What's your name, anyway?" He inquired.

"Haruno Sakura." She told him. "You?"

"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, and the next Hokage, dattebayo!"

The next day, Sakura and Naruto could be found walking to their class at the academy. Then, Sakura saw another girl with platinum blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

"Wait here, Naruto-kun!" Sakura said, and ran over to the blonde. "Ino-chan!"

The blonde, Ino, looked over. "Sakura! Ohayou!"

Sakura smiled. "Ino-chan, I want you to meet someone!"

Her friend laughed. "OK."

Sakura led Ino over to where Naruto was waiting. "Ino-chan, this is Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun, Ino-chan!" She said simply, proud of herself for introducing her two best friends to each other.

The two blondes smiled and greeted each other warmly. Inside, however, they were both seething. 'That good-for-nothing blonde is going to try to steal away MY friend Sakura-chan! He/She is going DOWN!'

Sakura, happily oblivious to this, smiled. "Naruto-kun! Ino-chan! We should get to class!"

Both of them nodded simultaneously. "Right." This initiated a glaring match.

Six Years Later

Over the years, Sakura and Ino had fallen out over a certain raven-haired Uchiha. This allowed Naruto and Ino to drop their rivalry for Sakura's attention, and they became closer as a result.

Naruto had also made friends with a lazy genius, Nara Shikamaru, who preferred sleeping and cloud-watching to studying. His family's strength involved manipulating shadows. Since Naruto had trouble with his Bunshin no Jutsu, Shikamaru offered to teach him the Kage Bunshin, or Shadow Clone. Naruto happily accepted.

It was the day of the graduation exam. Naruto had been practicing his jutsus, along with Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru. His three friends passed without much difficulty. When it came Naruto's turn, he felt confident. He formed a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled, and created five shadow clones.

Needless to say, Iruka was impressed. "Well, Naruto, I'm proud to say that you pass!" He told the ecstatic blonde.

"Wow! Thanks, Iruka-sensei!!!!" Naruto cried. He grabbed a hitai-ite from the table and ran outside to meet his friends.

(A/N: in my story, Mizuki is caught and busted by Iruka. And for all you Hinata and/or Sasuke fans, they'll come in next chapter. And pairings poll is open! If you vote, keep in mind, there are some pairings I won't do. (for more details on that, visit my profile….))


	3. Chapter 2

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** ShinoHinata, others TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts/Inners speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast/Inners_

------

Shikamaru laughed softly upon seeing Naruto run up to the group. His laugh grew louder when he spotted the hitai-ite their blonde friend sported--on his forehead.

"Awesome, Naruto! You passed too!" cried a voice belonging to one Akimichi Chouji, Shikamaru's best friend since, well, forever.

"Well of course I did! Not only did Shikamaru teach me that kick-ass jutsu, but I'm gonna be Hokage some day! I can't stop here! Dattebayo!!"

"You and 'dattebayo'……Sheesh, how troublesome…."

"You too, Shika! You have got to quit saying that!"

"Mendokusai."

"Hey, you two!" Interrupted their pink-haired companion. "How about you compete to see how long you can NOT say those words? Loser has to give up theirs forever!"

"Sounds good, Sakura-chan! But yours has to be 'shannaro'!"

Sakura twitched.

**They can't tell us what to do! SHANNARO!!!** Inner Sakura cried out.

_That means you too. So shut it._ Sakura snapped at her inner.

"So be it, Naruto-kun!" She said out loud, ignoring her pouting Inner.

"ALL RIGHT!!" Naruto yelled happily.

"Hn. Can you keep it down, dobe?" An emotionless voice asked.

"Shut it, Teme!"

"Kyaah! Sasuke-kun!!!" Screamed a whole crowd of girls behind the Uchiha boy.

However, if you looked closer, you could see an indigo haired girl, with her forehead protector tied around her neck, inching away from the rabid fangirls. Her pearl-colored eyes were unnaturally wide, presumably with fear of what she sought escape from. A boy on her left, had one been able to see his face, one might have seen a similarly frightened look in his eyes. However, this was not possible, due to said boy's high-collar jacket and sunglasses. And, as if enough of his face wasn't hidden, his hitai-ite rested comfortably on his forehead. He gave off an unnaturally calm aura, but the indigo-haired girl didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to be trying to hide from everyone, by standing behind him, but since the fangirls were close to that location, she didn't look too sure about the idea.

Then, up came another crowd of girls. "Shino-kun! Marry me!" They all cried.

The calm boy grabbed his companion's arm and wordlessly marched to the other side of one Uchiha Sasuke.

If Sasuke was surprised by this, he didn't show it.

Hinata smiled softly at Shino's action. "Shino-san?"

Said boy looked over. "Aa?"

"Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for pulling me with you." She replied.

"You're welcome, Hinata."

Hinata blushed. She was startled that she had not stuttered, and was curious to know why. She thought it over, but it was hard to do with Shino's calm aura surrounding her.

'So that's it. It's Shino-kun's aura---wait…Shino-kun??' Her blush intensified. Shino, noticing this, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata-chan?" He blinked. "I mean, Hinata?"

Shino was annoyed. Seriously annoyed. Why had he called her Hinata-chan? It wasn't like he liked her!

'Wait…do I like her?? Sure, she's cute..--wait, where did cute come from??'

**You do like her, then.** Came an annoying voice.

_I don't---wait. Who are you?_

**I'm your Inner self. All the emotions you lock away? Yeah, that's me.**

_Right. And you're here…..why?_ Shino asked his "Inner self"

**Because you need to figure out that you like that Hyuga. She's absolutely adorable. Not to mention fucking sexy!!**

At that last comment, our stoic Aburame proceeded to beat the living hell out of his Inner self and its perverted mind. Pushing the hentai thoughts--courtesy of that perverted Inner. Damn it all-- to the back of his mind, he noticed that Hinata was talking to him.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. Could you repeat that?" He asked softly.

"Oh!" came her startled reply. "I was just…..just worried, is all…you weren't responding…"

"I zoned out. Gomen ne." 'Damn stupid Inner Self'

The indigo-haired object of Shino's affection giggled. "You're cute when you zone out, Shino-kun."

Both of them followed a certain thought trail in reaction.

'Did I/She just call him/me cute?'

Cue the return of Aburame Shino's perverted Inner.

'Damn stupid teenage hormones.'

------

The Next Day

The newly graduated Genin sat in the classroom, waiting for Iruka-sensei, and the announcement of their Genin squads.

-------

(A/n: I know, I'm mean. I'll have the next chapter out soon, though, I promise.

Now. If you'll notice, a pairing I now have is ShinoHinata. I have also received a vote for NarutoXFemHaku. This is a distinct possibility. Now, I need your input.

Should I make this a NaruHarem fic? Tell me in your review. And please explain WHY you think so.

Also, I still need pairings. The ones I am considering are:

SasuSaku

KakaRin

NaruHarem (Haku being first, of course.)

Any other choices that you like, please review and mention them. Oh, and if you vote on the Harem idea, vote on at least one girl to be included or one pairing, or suggest your own.

'til next time. Ja!


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** ShinoXHinata, others TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts/Inners speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast/Inners_

---

Iruka smiled and looked at the newly graduated Genin.

"Alright, everyone hush!" He yelled.

Once the Genin complied, Iruka nodded approvingly.

"Team 7. Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakura. Uzumaki Naruto. Sensei…--"

"Iruka-sensei! Why am I stuck with that emo bastard?!?" Naruto burst out.

For once, Sakura agreed. Iruka, however, was less than pleased.

"It's because we wanted to balance out the teams in terms of ability." He said, in a tone that left no room for argument. "Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

Silence.

"Now." Iruka continued. "Team 8. Hyuga Hinata. Aburame Shino. Inuzuka Kiba. Sensei…Yuhi Kurenai. Team 10. Nara Shikamaru. Yamanaka Ino. Akimichi Chouji." Iruka paused, re-checking his list. "Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma," finished the Academy instructor.

-----

Two hours later, only Team Seven remained. Sasuke was being his emo self, Sakura was reading, and Naruto was setting up an eraser in the door.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura asked, without even looking up.

"He deserves this for being late! Naruto proclaimed.

Sakura sighed, while Inner Sakura cheered. **"Cha!"**

Naruto grinned. "Sakura-chan?" He asked, walking over to her.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"What'cha reading?" He asked, taking the seat next to her.

"A book." Came her reply.

"Cool."

Meanwhile Sasuke was brooding.

'What does that dobe have that I, an Uchiha, do not?' he wondered.

Sasuke had to admit, when Sakura wasn't fawning over him, she was rather attractive. 'Wait, what?'

But before he could ponder further, the door slid open, and the eraser fell on a head of silver hair.

'That's a Jounin?' mused Sasuke

**That's pathetic.** Crowed Inner Sakura.

'Ha-ha, he fell for it!' Naruto snickered.

Kakashi glared at the trio. First Sasuke, who was wearing his usual 'I'm better than you' face. Next "pinky" as the Jounin dubbed her, who was paying more attention to her book than to her surroundings. Last, but not least, was Naruto, who looked very much like he was trying not to bust up laughing.

"My first impression of you three…..I hate you all."

"Hn." Sasuke replied with his trademark phrase.

'So?' Sakura rolled her eyes.

**What a wuss!** Sounded a voice in Naruto's mind which he couldn't help but agree fully with.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes," said their now chalk-haired teacher.


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** ShinoXHinata, others TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts/Inners speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast/Inners_

---

Once on the rooftop, their sensei began to speak.

"You will now introduce yourselves. You know, your name, likes/dislikes, hobbies…dreams...all that stuff." He finished lamely, receiving three identical glares from his students.

Sakura spoke up first. "Why don't you go first, _sensei_," She layered sarcasm on the word sensei. "And show us how it's done?" She finished. She already hated this guy, mostly because of that orange book.

"Fine." The man replied. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes are few; my dislikes are…I have a lot of hobbies. My dreams? Hm, never really thought about it."

"So all we learned was his name?" Naruto hissed to Sakura.

"Seems so, Naruto." She whispered back.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Alright. You next, Pinky."

Sakura and Naruto both glared. The kuniochi hated that nickname.

"My _name_ is Haruno Sakura. My likes are my friends, such as Naruto-kun. My dislikes are emo bastards, annoying teachers and Ino-pig. My hobby is training. My dreams? To start a family and become an excellent kuniochi."

"That's all?" Kakashi asked, surprised. 'Well that wasn't what I expected.' He sighed. "Now you, Blondie."

Naruto grimaced. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like several things. My dislikes? Ignorant villagers, you, and Sasuke-Teme. My hobbies are none of your business. My dream, well I'm going to be Hokage!!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow 'he matured as I thought he would... I think. And now for my third student. Happy-happy-joy-joy.'

"Emo-boy, you last."

"Uchiha Sasuke. My likes are few and far between. My dislikes are many, including this team. I have no hobbies. My dreams, no, my ambitions are to revive my clan, and to kill a certain man."

Kakashi rolled his one visible eye. "Meet me tomorrow morning, training ground three, at 5 A.M sharp. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, or you'll throw up." With that, he poofed off.

----

Two hours Later-Ichiraku Ramen Stand

Naruto and Sakura sat side by side, enjoying a bowl of their favorite Ramen. Both had agreed that this wasn't a date, just a friendly outing. Naruto, at any rate, had decided that the pink-haired girl was more like a sister to him than anything else. Suddenly, said kuniochi spoke up.

"Naruto?" She looked over at the blonde.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" He replied without looking up.

"Remember our word bet a few years back? Who all lost?"

He grinned sheepishly. "I did."

Sakura laughed. "So that's why you don't say 'Believe it!' anymore!"

"Yup!" He responded with a chuckle. Almost as quickly as it had come, it was replaced by a sigh. "I wish we had Shikamaru on our team."

"Same. Ino-pig is so lucky. She gets the nice guy, while we get stuck with Sasuke-bastard." The two fell silent, until a familiarly bored voice was heard.

"Why is Ino lucky, now?"

"Shikamaru!" Naruto and Sakura yelled happily!

"Troublesome….must you be so loud?" The lazy genius inquired, stifling a yawn.

"Yup." Naruto replied cheerfully.

"So why is Ino so lucky?" The Nara male asked again, taking a seat on Sakura's other side.

"Because she has you on her team!" The two members of team 7 chorused, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Tch. I'd give an arm and a leg to be on your team, normally, but I can't abandon Chouji."

His companions shuddered at the thought.

(A/N: Pairing Poll still open!

Votes so far!

SasuSaku: 1

ItaSaku: 1

**NaruHarem**

Haku: 1

Ino: 1


	6. Chapter 5

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness

**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** ShinoXHinata, others TBD

**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?

**Disclaimer:** OK, people…..we all know the drill…none of us…..myself included…own Naruto!!! All I own is my OC; Kyoko, and my imagination…..

**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo hold the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts/Inners speaking to their hosts**

_Hosts responding to their tailed beast/Inners_

Much thanks to my kick-ass Beta, Black Saint! You're the best!

---

The next morning, the three members of Team 7 showed up on time and , as expected, Kakashi did not. Sakura reached in her bag and pulled out three apples, offering one to each teammate. Naruto gratefully accepted, whereas Sasuke only did after his stomach growled loudly. Naruto snickered at this, earning a glare from the iceberg Uchiha. Sakura sighed at this, and bit into her fruit, choosing to ignore the boys.

After finishing their impromptu breakfasts, and disposing of the cores, they sat down to wait for their sensei. And wait they did, for over two hours. When he finally showed up, Sakura and Naruto sprang to their feet.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" They screamed.

"Yes, well I got lost...--" Kakashi started.

"LIAR!!!" The pair cut in.

Kakashi sighed. "Well let's get to it. You three…" Here, he nodded his head at the three Genin. "…must try to get these bells…" He held up two silver bells. "…from my person by noon. Whoever doesn't get one, gets tied to the post, gets no lunch, and gets to watch me eat mine. Oh, and they get sent back to the Academy." Three startled faces met this announcement.

"Now…..begin!"

All three vanished into the woods. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. 'Good. All of them have hidden themselves well.'

---

Sakura found Naruto. "I know the point of this! It's teamwork!" She said excitedly.

Naruto grinned. "That's my Sakura-chan! But I'll bet that Sasuke-Teme won't work with us."

Sakura smirked. "Then let him get tied to a post." Both of them found the images this thought produced to be quite amusing.

Naruto nodded. "Here's the plan."

---

Sasuke lay in wait for Kakashi. When the Jounin approached, Sasuke launched a barrage of kunai and shuriken at him, only to discover that the older man had used a substitution. 'Damn.' He tried to move positions, only to run headlong into the one he was trying to avoid.

---

Sakura and Naruto heard a very familiar yell.

"Ha-ha, the Teme got caught!" Naruto laughed.

Sakura shook her head and proceeded to the spot the yell had come from. Time to put plan 'Take-down Kakashi-sensei' into action.

---

Kakashi looked around. 'One Down.' He thought, sparing a glance to Sasuke, who only had his head showing above the ground. 'Now the other two should be easy.' How very wrong he was. Sakura jumped out, grinning. She proceeded to pull Sasuke out, as though Kakashi weren't there, and then whispered something to the newly freed Uchiha. Sasuke frowned and shook his head, causing Sakura to glare at him and turn to head towards their silver-haired Jounin instructor. She began to randomly attack him, confusing the hell out of both him and Sasuke. After about an hour of this, the alarm went off. Kakashi returned to where the posts were, along with Sasuke and Sakura.

---

Sasuke was not a happy camper. He was currently tied to a log, and he did not like it one bit. And, of course, Naruto couldn't help but take advantage of the situation.

"Sheesh, Teme. And I thought I was supposed to be the dead-last. You suck."

Before Sasuke could retort, Kakashi interrupted. "Actually Sasuke, Naruto has a point. At least he and Sakura grasped the point of this exercise. Teamwork. But, since none of you got a bell, you all fail!"

Naruto laughed at this. "Not so fast, Kaka-sensei!"

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Nani?"

Naruto, realizing he had the Jounin's full attention, pulled out a familiar orange book and a kunai. "Hand over the bells to me and Sakura-chan, sensei, or your precious book gets it!"

Kakashi then had a small-scale panic attack searching for the book on his person, finally realizing that Naruto, indeed, held his real copy. He grabbed the bells. "Here. Now give back my book!!" He wailed. Naruto stood up and swapped the book for the bells. He walked back over to his teammates and handed one of them to Sakura.

"So." Kakashi said, "That means Sasuke has to go back to the academy."

"Wrong again, sensei." Naruto proclaimed, moving in front of Sasuke, kunai held in front of his body.

"Yeah. Didn't you say it was all about teamwork?" Sakura questioned, taking a similar stance on Sasuke's other side. "We pass or fail as a team!"

Kakashi smiled. "You all pass. Great job, guys! Meet me at the bridge tomorrow at seven for our first mission! Dismissed!"

---

(A/N: Pairing poll will close soon, so get your votes in! Results so far are as follows:

**Harem**

Fem. Haku: 2  
Ino: 1  
Hanabi: 1  
Fem. Kyuubi: 1  
Temari: 1  
Tsunade: 1  
Kurenai: 1

(Keep in mind, I might rule out some if it becomes too difficult to keep them in the plot and still keep everything going smoothly.)

**Others**

SasuSaku: 1  
ItaSaku: 1  
ShikaTema: 1  
ShikaIno: 1  
KakaAnko: 2

'Til next time. Ja!


	7. Chapter 6

**Title:** Naruto's Happiness  
**Authoress:** Ribbon-chan03  
Rating: T  
**Pairings:** ShinoXHinata, NarutoHarem, others TBD  
**Summary:** what if Naruto was shown kindness by some people, instead of hatred from all sides?  
**Disclaimer:** this stuff is called FAN fiction for a REASON!!!  
**Authoress Note:** In this fic, my OC, Kyo, and Sakura, are also Jinchuriki. Kyo holds the seven-tailed phoenix, Suzaku, and Sakura has the eight-tailed dragon, Hachimata. 

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"  
**Kyuubi/Suzaku/Hachimata/other tailed beasts/Inners speaking to their hosts**  
_Hosts responding to their tailed beast/Inners_

---

Team seven had been on more 'D'-rank missions then they could count on all their hands and feet. They all felt they should be allowed to do something more challenging. Naruto was the first to express this.

"Come on, old man! Give us a higher ranked mission already!!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Now, now, Naruto…" Sarutobi started up on a long lecture, only to realize, half-way through, that none of them were paying attention to a word. Sarutobi sweat dropped and gave in. "Fine. I'll give you a C-Rank."

Enter Tazuna, a bridge builder in his mid forties, carrying a bottle of sake. He drank a gulp of it, and glanced over and Team 7.

"These midgets? Are they even qualified to be ninja?"

Sakura had to restrain Naruto so he wouldn't kill the client.

---

Once outside the village gates, the group set off. On the road, they walked by a water puddle. Sakura and Kakashi spared it a second glance, whereas Naruto and Sasuke were too busy having a glaring match to care.

A few moments later, two ninja sprang up from the puddle. Wrapping Kakashi in chains from the gauntlets they wore, they ripped him to shreds.

"One down" the first declared.

Sakura glared at the ninja as the got behind Naruto. "Naruto-kun, look out!!" She screamed.

Naruto blinked. 'What? Why won't my body move?!'

"Two down." The other mystery nin said calmly, as though he were merely commenting on the weather.

"Oh no you don't!!" yelled the pink-haired kuniochi.

She threw several kunai and shuriken. Naruto ducked, and Sakura's projectiles successfully pinned the two nin's chains to a tree. They pulled, and realized that it wasn't going to come lose. So they disconnected the chains from the gauntlets. One of them went for Naruto, the other for Tazuna. Sasuke, spotting this, moved in front of the client.

"Stay back!" He ordered. Tazuna seemed all too happy to comply.

But before the rouge nin could hit Sasuke, he was stopped by a stranglehold.

---

(A/N: yup, I'm a Sasuke hater.

Anyhow, the pairing poll will close next chapter, most likely, so get your votes in! Results so far are as follows:

**Harem**

Fem. Haku: 3

Ino: 2

Hanabi: 1

Temari: 3

(I'm not going to include Tsunade, Kurenai or Kyuubi, because it's too awkward for me to write. Sorry.)

**Others**

SasuSaku: 1

ItaSaku: 1

ShikaTema: 1

ShikaIno: 1

KakaAnko: 2

ShikaSaku: 1

**New Poll:**

Should I include my OC, Kyoko Uchiha, in this fic? If so, who should she be paired with?

'Til next time. Ja!


End file.
